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| Syria-Lebanon |
| In first, U.S. voices assessment of WMD to Syria |
| 2003-10-30 |
| From Middle East Newsline.... Now US states what Debka, et. al. have been saying for quite some time. For the first time, the U.S. intelligence community has released an assessment that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were transferred to neighboring Syria in the weeks prior to the U.S.-led war against the Saddam Hussein regime. U.S. officials said the assessment was based on satellite images of convoys of Iraqi trucks that poured into Syria in February and March 2003. The officials said the intelligence community assessed that the trucks contained missiles and WMD components banned by the United Nations Security Council. The U.S. intelligence assessment was discussed publicly for the first time by the director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency in a briefing in Washington on Tuesday. James Clapper, a retired air force general and a leading member of the U.S. intelligence community, said he linked the disappearance of Iraqi WMD with the huge number of Iraqi trucks that entered Syria before and during the U.S. military campaign to topple the Saddam regime. "I think personally that the [Iraqi] senior leadership saw what was coming and I think they went to some extraordinary lengths to dispose of the evidence," Clapper said. "I’ll call it an educated hunch." Maybe this is the start of a calculated effort on the part of the US to go for Syria, since they are not cooperating on the WoT. We will just have to see what happens next. |
| Posted by:Alaska Paul |
| #11 For once I agree---unlimited oil reserves and the asses need nuclear power-----NOT |
| Posted by: NotMikeMoore 2003-10-31 12:54:36 AM |
| #10 Thanks Aris, glad I'm wrong. Re Iran, no need to convince us that Syria "passed" anything on -- we don't really believe that oil-rich Iran needs a nuke plant, so there's the casus belli right there... |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2003-10-30 6:23:44 PM |
| #9 Carl> "Aris, taking you at your word (a mistake, probably, but what the hell...), you are onboard with us now that we are building a casus belli for Syria, right ? Right ?" Let's say that I'm *more* onboard with you where Syria is concerned than I was with Iraq. But, really people, WMDs *again*?? Can't you find a casus belli slightly less stupid than this? Given how Syria is (IIRC) in a declared state of war with Israel and occupies Lebanon and such stuff, I really don't think that the idiocy called "WMDs" is really your best choice here by far. And if you don't find WMDs there either, it'll be somewhat difficult, geographically speaking, to convince people that Syria then somehow managed to pass them on to Iran. :-D |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2003-10-30 5:00:39 PM |
| #8 I still find it very hard to believe that Saddam, who expected the Yanks were bluffing, would pass along his WMD to Syria who has not been a on and off enemy despite their Bath party allegences. I find it hard to believe that Syria, watching the US buildup to invasion of Iraq would take the WMD and set themselves up as next in line. I just don't buy into these reports. |
| Posted by: Yanks 2003-10-30 2:50:32 PM |
| #7 Mark your calendars boys, here we go...I estimate sometime after next year's elections...(yeah going out on a limb, I know ) Aris, taking you at your word (a mistake, probably, but what the hell...), you are onboard with us now that we are building a casus belli for Syria, right ? Right ? |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2003-10-30 12:38:35 PM |
| #6 I said this months ago, but who cares? Maybe I'll start a liberal think tank and see if I can get those fools to throw tons of money at me. Beats working for a living... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-10-30 12:01:29 PM |
| #5 I heard a news report on the radio this AM about the Senate Intelligence Committee's work on the WMD "issue." I wonder if this "official" assessment was issued to counteract the perceived political effort of the committee. The administration has been playing its cards close to its chest on this issue, even though there has been much speculation about WMD going to Syria before the war. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-10-30 11:01:04 AM |
| #4 Gertz wrote about it in the Washington Times as well. |
| Posted by: Daniel King 2003-10-30 10:09:04 AM |
| #3 It was in the 29 Oct Wall Street Journal as well. |
| Posted by: Brian 2003-10-30 2:20:10 AM |
| #2 I think it's more a semi-subtle way of pointing out to the lunkheads in Damascus that we can find a causus belli if we really want to. They're dirty, and everyone knows it. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-10-30 1:09:44 AM |
| #1 Middle East Newsline? |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-10-30 12:29:58 AM |